Packing.



PATENTED MAY 1o, 1904.

A. 0. VAN DERVORT.

PACKING.

APPLICATION HLBD 001224. 1903.

2 SHEETS-SHEET l.

H0. MODEL.

No. 759,330.- PATENTED MAAT 1o, 1904.

A. o. VAN DBRVORT.

PACKING.

APPLICATION FILED 00T.24, 1903.

H0 MODEL. 2 SHEETS-SHEET 2.

UNITED STATES Patented May 1o, ieee.

PATENT OEEICE.

PACKING.

SPECIFICATION forming part of Letters Patent No. 759,830, dated May 10, 1904.

Application filed October 24., 1903. Serial No. 178,304. (No model.)

To a/ZZ wil/0m t may concern.:

Be it known that I, ADRIAN O. VAN Dnavonr, a citizen of the United States, residing in Troy, in the county of Rensselaer and State of New York, have invented certain new and useful Improvements in Packings, of which the following is a specification.

This invention relates to and has for an ol.)- ject to provide an improved packing and means for controlling the same, permitting it to conform to irregularities in the position of the rod or shaft which is packed.

In the drawings accompanying and forming part of this specification a. form of my invention is illustrated, wherein- Figure 1 shows a piston or other rod in elevation and partly broken away and surrounding the same an embodiment of my invention shown in central cross-section. Fig. 2 is an end view thereof. Fig. 3 is a perspective showing the parts disassembled. Fig. et is a view similar to Fig. 1, but showing the position assumed by the packing when the rod is shifted laterally from its normal position. Fig. 5 is a perspective illustrating a forni of metallic packing-ring which may advantageously be employed in this device, and Fig. 6 vis a diagrammaticview showing a piston-cylinder and cross-head and a crank with the connected parts and will be referred to in the description of the invention.

It is well known that a piston-rod will at times from various causes move a little to one side or the other either by wearing of parts or the settling of certain of the surroundings of the structure, and if the packing is rigidly held such movement will `strain the packing or cause it to fail to meet the object of its employment. It is found that such movement of the shaft may not only be so that its outlines move to a position parallel to the normal position, but it also vibrates, or the shaft might be regarded as rotating upon a point in the line of its axis. This invention is intended to efficiently pack a rod which is liable to such action, and in the drawings herein a shaft is shown (designated in a general way by 10) having in the present instance an enlargement 11 and a reduced tapering portion 12, which in practice will take into the called a stufling-box.7 The'stufIing-box is .shown as closed by a cap-piece 14, in the present instance bolted to the stuffing-box by means of tap-bolts 15. Some suitable form of packing may be employed. 1n the present instance a series of metallic rings 16 is illus-- trated, each of which rings inthe present instance comprises segmental portions 17, having lapped or sliding joints 18. Flanges 19 are shown upon the segments, and a sustaining-ring 20, lying' between the flanges, to hold the segments together and against the rod. A number of these rings are shown as contained within a casing 21, which casing has end portions 22 in the form of rings, each of which receives an end of the casing 20 in a rabbet. The end rings 22 each has an outer face 23, and such rings carry within them packingsegments 24, which will afford a bearing fory the rod which is packed and to which the device is applied, so that when the parts are assembled and in position upon the rod any lateral movement or wabbling of the rod will cause the entire casing and set of rings to move with it, they being of course prevented from longitudinal movement with the rod by the surrounding parts. As herein illustrated, the casing is provided with steam-ports 25,

whereby steam may find access into a chamber which is left between the inside of such casing and the outside of the packing, so that the steam will cause such packing to closely adhere to the shaft and efficiently pack the same.

The inner face of the cap 14 is provided with a cup-shaped bearing 26, having a concave formation against which a bearing-ring 27 i maybe placed, which bearing-ring is shown as having a corresponding convex face 28 to engage therewith, and the inner space of the ring is shown as of larger diameter than the diameter of the rod packed. This ring is also provided with a plane face29 to engage one of the end faces 28 and permit the same to slide thereon. A similar ring is provided for the IOO other end of the packing-casing and fits into a concave cup 30 upon afollower 31, conforming to the chamber within the stuffing-box, a suitable spiral spring 32 being shown for the purpose of placing the follower and the parts in close engagement.

It will be seen that the inside diameters of the follower, the rings, the entrance to the stuffing-box,- and the cap are of larger diameter than the diameter of the shaft, but that the bearing's 24 closely conform to the shaft, whereby any movement of the shaft will be imparted to the rings-that is, for instance, referring to Fig. 4, if the shaft moves from the dotted-line position (indicated by 33) to the full-line position the packing-casing and the rings 22 will move with the shaft. Such movement is shown as parallel to the axis of the shaft; but in case the shaft moves atan angle to its axis then the packing-casing' will move as a whole with the shaft, the faces Q3 always being substantially transverse or at about right angles to the axial line of the shaft, and the faces 28 of the rings 27 will also be forced to move in suoli transverse plane, their rounding convex faces rolling in the cup faces in which they are placed somewhat after the analogy of a ball joint or bearing, whereby the packing will always be held firmly incident to the movement of the follower, but will be permitted to confor-m to any erratic movements of the i'od. The follower is pr'ovided with steam-ports 34 to supply steam for the packing-casing.

By referring to Fig. 6, wherein is shown a cylinder 35, having mounted therein a piston 36, Vconnected by a piston-rod 37 to a crosshead 38, sliiftable upon cross-head slides 39 and pivoted to a pitman 40, embracing a crankpin 4l, and assuming that steam is supplied to the cylinder in the direction of the arrow and the pitman is moving in the` direction of the arrow upon it, then the pull of the crosshead will be in the direction ofthe arrow 42, which in course of time will wear the bearings for the cross-head, as will also the gravity of the parts upon such bearing, so that it will be necessary to maintain the packing in an eflicient condition that it adjust itself to this condition of wear. lt may also be possible that when the parts assume the position illustrated in Fig. 6 and move as therein indicated the piston-rod will wabble toward one side and that upon their return stroke will wabble in the opposite direction, this of course being exaggerated in some instances when the pai'ts are given fi'eedon in their bearings or owing to ksome other causes maintained in connection with the parts that are set up, so that it will be seen that no matter what position the shaft assumes the packing should be maintained upon the rod with its full virtue.

rlhe cap 14 may carry a cap 43, secured thereto by some convenient means, here shown as tap-bolts 44, and having' within it a pair of rings 45, each comprised of separable segments, these rings being a suflicient distance from the shaft to clear it in its movements and having between them some suitable lubricant-retaining' matei'ial 46, which may be supplied with lubricant through an oilhole 47, whereby the shaft will receive sufricient lubrication to maintain it in proper working order in connection with the packing-that is, assuming', of course, that the piston-rod is in a position which requires lubricant; otherwise it may be omitted. Cap 14, as shown, is packed by a ring 50.

In locomotive engines, particularly the high-speed engines, there is considerable resiliency of the parts, causing the piston-rod tohave considerabley vibration or lateral movement, which when ordinary forms of packing are used distorts and wea-rs the packing and permits the same to leak. Then the steam does leak from such packing, it will usually pursue a course' to come in front of the cab-windows, not only covering them with condensation and making them opaque, but also producing a dense cloud in front of the engineers vision, making' it impossible for him to see signals or the track in front of him and frequentlyrequires the reduction of speed. This one instance of the result of the present form of deficient packing illustrates the dangers and inconveniences to which the public is subjected. The present improvement, however, applied in similar surroundings will efficiently pack the piston and prevent such dangerousand annoying escape of steam. 1

This device comprises what may be called a self-contained packingWthat is, the packing may be properly assembled in the casing and the whole held together either by some part of the device or by means of a convenient clamp and will then be in suitable condition to be held in readiness for use when it may be desired to repack a piston-rod or yother shaft whei'e it 'will be employed. The packing being self-contained may be assembled ready forY application to a'piston-rod, provided the end of the rod over which the same is to be passed is not of greater diameter than the bearing position thereof, so that no adjustment is required and the packing is always in condition for use when demanded. Such parts may be removed bodily from the rod when for any reason it' is desired tov do so and a new packing or the original replaced bodily and in an assembled form. y y

In Fig. l the i'ing' 27 is shown bored out to form a space 55 large enough to permit said ring to pass over the enlarged end l1 of the piston-rod, and similarly the outer cap 43 is shown bored with its central part large enough to permit its passage over said piston-rod shoulder l1, and for holding the packing 46 in place within the said cap plates 45 are provided, these being made in halves, so that when IOO IIO

the said cap 43 is slipped off over the end of the piston-rod these divided plates 45 may be taken off of the rod by separating them radially. After this the member 14 may be unfastened and removed, it also having a sufficiently large central aperture for permitting this member to pass over said piston-rod shoulder ll. Following this the aforesaid adjustable member 27 is similarly free to pass over the piston-rod end, after which it is then possible to remove the next succeeding member of the packing device-that is, the ring 22, which engages and holds in place the divided ring 24. By slipping the member comprising the parts 22 and 24 along toward the enlarged end of the piston-rod the said divided ring 24 may be pushed out of the ring 22 and the divided ring then separated and taken ofifrom the piston-rod, whereupon the ring 22, by reason `of its enlarged central opening', (for receiving said divided ring 24,) will also be free to pass off the piston-rod over its enlarged end portion. In similar manner all of the members of the packing device may be readily removed one after the other, and when a new packing device is to be put in place or a disassembled packing device is to be reassembled upon the rod this operation may be performed by reversing' the manipulation of the parts; the assembled packing meehanism being then slipped into its receivingchamber, the outer cap put in place, and the whole apparatus thus made ready for use.

This device by reason of its adaptation for removal and renewal of the various portions is especially adapted for application to piston-rods which have been re-turned, in which case it is usual to leave the extreme end portion of its original full size, in which class of cases it would of course be necessary to rcmove by separation, as in the case of the split ring 24, any rings which might be made of a size for properly fitting such a reduced piston-rod. In regard to the half-rings 24 where the packing is to be used for rods not having an enlarged end the ring 22 may be made to come close to the red, and so take the place of the divided ring 24.

It will be readily apparent that the center from which the faces of the cups and the bearing-rings are struck will be such that the proper rolling or ball-bearing movement will be effective with the least amount of resistance or wear.

It will be seen that the various parts are capable of working as herein described and that the packing will be held against the rod and will not be permitted to receive any strains or distortions which will wear it out or weaken it or prevent it from acting' efficiently.

Although metallic packing is herein illustrated, yet it will be apparent that other packing may be resorted to if found desirable in practice.

Having described my invention, I claim- 1. In a packing the combination of a housing, a cup having a concave face rigid therewith; a follower in the housing carrying a cup having a concave face; a number of packing-rings; a casing to carry the same, having plane faces on its ends; i a pair of rings having plane faces to abut and slide upon the end faces of the casing and convex faces to occupy and turn `in the cups.

2. In combmation with a rod, of means to carry packing therefor and comprising a casing having a packing-chamber, and a bearing at each end for the rod packed and organized to constrain the casing to maintain a position constant relative to the perimeter of the rod,

a plurality of packing-rings in said chamber independently movable in a radial plane, and means to admit steam to the chamber to compress the packing-rings.

3. The combination with a rod,ofa stufhngbox; a plurality of packing-.rings therein and upon the rod; a casing to hold the rings and having a bearing at each end for the rod and a face upon each side of the casing transverse to the line of the axis of the rod; a cupshaped bearing within the stuffing-box; a follower also within the stuffing-box and having a cup-shaped bearing; and a pair of rings each having a plane face to mate with the plane faces of the case and faces tomate with the cup-shaped bearings.

4. In combination with a stuffing-box and a rod, of a series of packing devices; means to constrain the packing devices to move in unison with the erratic movements of the rod; a ball-joint between each end of the same and the stuffing-box; and means to permit transverse movement of said holding means relative to said ball-joints.

5. A packing device comprising a body of packing; means to constrain the packing to move in unison with the erratic movements of the rod packed; a ball-joint at each end of the same; and bearings to permit transverse movement of said holding means relative to said ball-joints.

6. The combination with a rod, of a stuffingbox; a plurality of packing-rings therein and upon the rod; a easingto hold the rings and having bearings for the perimeter of the rod; faces upon the casing transverse to the line of the axis of the rod; a pair of cup-shaped bearings within the stuffing-box; a pair of rings each having a plane face to mate with the plane faces of the case and faces to mate with the cup bearings; and steam ports to supply steam to the casing to act on the packing.

7. The combination with a rod, of a stuflingbox; a packing therein and upon the rod; a casing within the stuffing-box to hold the packing and having bearings for the perimeter of the rod; faces upon the casing transverse to the line of the axis of the rod; a cup-shaped bearing within the stuiling-box; a follower; a similar bearing on the follower; a pair of IOO IIO

ISO

the rod; faces upon the casing transverse to the line of the axis of the rod; a pair of cupshaped bearings Within the stufng-box; a pair of rings each having a plane face to mate I5 With the plane faces of the case and faces to mate with the cup-bearings.

ADRIAN O. VAN DERVORT.

Witnesses:

WV. M. BATES, H. JUDD WARD. 

